The Polar Front and Its Place in Modern Meteorology

understood and tends to be over-simplified in elementary text-books. The term was introduced by Professor V. Bjerknes, of Bergen, in 1919. The term front'' denotes a boundary between air masses of different properties, more especially as regards temperature, and fronts of one kind or another now occupy a fundamental place in weather forecasting, chiefly because continuous rain is normally associated with a front. The term polar'' in this connection denotes the boundary not of the polar regions themselves, but of air which is cold because it has come from the polar regions. The choice of the word front*' was probably influenced by the analogy of the fronts of the Great War. The notion of our weather changes being controlled by a struggle between tropical and polar currents has sometimes found favour, but this metaphor is of doubtful value, and at best is only applicable on certain occasions over limited areas

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